Skywatch August 2004

During August, Mercury & Jupiter appear in the evening and Jupiter & Saturn in the pre-dawn skies. Mars reaches aphelion and is not visible. The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks and is expected to be exceptional this year.

Mercury is only visible during the first week of August. It is low to the horizon at sunset and will be a challenging object to locate. Regulus of Leo will be just right of Mercury. Mercury is shining at half a magnitude brighter. Also Regulus will twinkle because it shines by its own light while Mercury’s light will appear steady since it reflects the light of the Sun. The pair set by 9:30 p.m. over North America and will disappear into the glow of sunset by the 7th if not before. The longer nights of winter in Australia provide longer viewing time for Mercury. The difference in the tilt of the ecliptic renders Mercury above Regulus over Australia. Regulus sets around 7:45 on the 1st while Mercury sets around 8:15 p.m. Mercury should be visible until around the 14th for our friends down under.

Mercury stations retrograde on the 9th at 8:33 p.m. EDT. The Messenger stations direct on September 2nd at 9:09 a.m. EDT. Midway through the retrograde period, on the 23rd at 5:00 p.m. EDT, Mercury will reach inferior conjunction to the Sun. This means Mercury passes between the Earth and Sun. Mercury will reappear as a morning star in September.

Jupiter, our other evening planet is not far behind Mercury. At sunset, Jupiter can also be located among the stars of the constellation Leo. Jupiter is near the Lion’s hind leg. Jupiter will set by 10:15 pm over North America at the beginning of August and by 8:45 pm by month’s end. Jupiter will set by 9:15 p.m. over Australia at the onset of August and by 7:45 by the 31st.

Venus is the first planet to become visible in the east in the pre-dawn skies. Venus rises just below Zeta Tauri, the easternmost horn of Taurus at around 3:30 a.m. over North America on the 1st. She rises over Australia around 5:00 a.m. above Zeta Tauri. On the 17th at 3:00 p.m. Venus reaches greatest western elongation. This means she is as far from the Sun as she can possibly travel at 46 degrees. By this morning, Venus is rising in the constellation Gemini. By month’s end, Venus will join Saturn near the heads of the twins. The pair conjunct on the 31st at 12:07 p.m. EDT. That morning North American observers can find Venus to the right of Saturn. Both are lower than and to the right of the fixes stars Castor & Pollux of Gemini. Australian observers will find Venus slightly above Saturn. Both will be above and to the right of Castor & Pollux, the Twin’s heads. Therefore Venus is an interesting planet to watch this month as her apparent eastward motion is evident from one constellation to the next as she gains on a slower moving Saturn.

Saturn rises around 5:00 a.m. over North America on the 1st and around 7:00 a.m. over Australia. He will have longer viewing time as the month progresses. By the 31st Saturn rises around 3:20 a.m. over North America and 5:15 a.m. over Australia. Saturn’s eastward movement is slightly over 2 degrees and therefore not very noticeable.

Mars reaches aphelion on the 7th at 7:00 p.m. Aphelion is the furthest distance a planet reaches from the Sun. Mars will be 154.9 million miles from the Sun at its widest point of the elliptical orbit. Mars disappeared into the glow of sunset at the end of July and will not return as a morning star until October. The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks this month on the evening of the 11th and 12th. This annual shower, compliments of the parent comet Swift Tuttle is active all month until about the 23rd. The shower radiates from the constellation Perseus Observers in North America are expected to see 80-100 shooting stars from 1:00 a.m. until dawn at the peak on the 12th. A strong 15 minute peak during the peak at 20:54 UT is predicted for European observers. The numbers there are expected to reach a few hundred per hour. It will be too early for North America to see the heightened activity as Earth passes through a narrow debris trail left by Swift Tuttle in 1862. A Sky Map of North America at 1:00 a.m. local time is available in the OCA Pubic Library depicting the location of Perseus in the night sky. You won’t want to miss this spectacular display!

Observers in Australia will not likely be able to witness this shower. The constellation Perseus begins to peak above the horizon at 3:30 a.m. but remains low along the horizon until sunrise. A Sky Map of the Australian skies at 5:30 a.m. also depicting the location of Venus is available in the OCA Public Library, just in case you can catch a glimpse of a stray shooting star.

A Third Quarter Moon occurs on the 7th at 6:01 p.m. EDT. The Moon reaches apogee on the 11th at 5:33 a.m. EDT. Her furthest distance from Earth this month is 251,837 miles. The New Moon occurs on the 15th at 9:24 p.m. EDT. The First Quarter Moon occurs on the 23rd at 6:12 a.m. EDT. The Moon reaches perigee on the 27th at 1:38. Her closest distance to Earth this month is 226,866 miles. A Full Moon occurs on the 30th at 10:22 p.m. EDT. Although we can not witness this, Pluto stations direct on the 30th at 3:37 p.m.

As usual the Moon can guide you to locating the planets in the night sky if you are not already familiar with their position. On the morning of the 12th the Moon rises with Venus. Venus will be to the right of the Moon. The next morning, the Moon will rise just ahead of Saturn and dances above and to the left. The Moon will conjunct Mars & Mercury on the 16th, but this being a New Moon, all are too close to the Sun to be visible. The Moon returns to the evening sky to dance with Jupiter on the 17th. Look low along the western horizon at sunset and see if you notice Jupiter just to the left of the Moon.

Observers in Australia will find the Moon dancing with Venus on the morning of the 11th. Watch for Venus to appear to the right of the Moon about a half hour after moonrise. The Moon rises with Saturn on the morning of the 13th around 6:15 a.m. On the 18th the Moon returns to the evening sky as it climbs out of the sunset to dance with Jupiter. The Moon will appear to the right of Jupiter. The pair set around 8:20 p.m.

Happy Stargazing! Feel free to pass this issue of Sky Watch along to your star gazing friends.


Julene M. Johnson, NCGR-III
Media Director, OCA
Instructor, OCA
ONLINE College of Astrology
www.astrocollege.com
FIRST in Online Astrological Education